NOVEL FROG Chapter 54: Overdrive
Unlike with void and dimensional magic, Zyrus was a complete newbie with the power of abyss. It would have been impossible to create a domain without using his bloodline.
It was far from the level of 'Eternal Prison', but even so, the domain he created was strong enough to reap the lives of many.
*Pierce*
“Kiiekk--”
The glemorax warriors felt like they were trapped in a swamp. The dark power surging in the air seeped into their bodies and corroded their mana.
Zyrus wasn’t able to merge the power of void with his bloodline. Without that, the domain itself lacked any offensive capability, at least in the short term.
*Bang*
The amarg who had just pierced a warrior was blasted off like a cannonball. It didn’t even have the time to collect the corpse.
Scenes like these were common all across the battlefield. Zyrus's troops were of a lower level compared to his enemy.
Fortunately, the domain was also activated at this moment. The glemorax warriors under the domain had their movement speed decreased. This wasn't the only effect.
Their mana and vitality were turning against them.
Although it wasn’t a life-threatening issue at the moment, the feeling it gave was very unpleasant. They felt like a part of their being was falling into a deep chasm, and bit by bit, their very existence would be consumed in those depths.
*Pierce*
*Swish*
“Urgh”
A dozen more replaced the previous amarg as they charged like trucks. It looked funny when the amargs rushed with their lowered heads, but when their metallic spikes and gigantic stature were taken into consideration, no one would laugh at them.
Zyrus didn’t even glance at the chief who was shrouded by dark miasma. Nearly half of his power was used to contain him. He barely maintained the current balance thanks to the 10x mana and stamina regeneration given by the title.
If the chief wanted to, he could’ve escaped at any time as long as he was willing to pay the price. But would he dare take such a risk? The freaky part about the power of the abyss was its nature to stick onto any source of mana.
Zyrus deliberately used just enough power to hold him off. Too little and the enemy would ignore the aftermath and attack him, while using too much would make him vulnerable against the other captains and squad leaders.
Even now those larger glemorax were making their way to him.
[Arcane Lance]
Zyrus punched in the air in the closest squad leader’s direction.
*Swish*
‘I’ve never been more satisfied with the hundreds of years I spent practicing,’
Blue flickering spears flew towards the target, but they were much weaker than the ones he used in the sanctuary. With the amount of mana he had there was no way he could properly use this skill. If he were to use the skill with the sanctuary's system, then it would definitely fail to activate.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the sanctuary, and he didn’t have to rely on stats and numbers to use a skill. Most importantly, he wasn’t alone.
*CHRIEEK*
A loud tearing noise reverberated in the surroundings. Nearly fifty amargs followed Zyrus’s action and let out a barrage of spikes.
It was a one-time attack where most of their spinal spikes were ejected from their back. It cost them a lot of stamina. After using this move they could only use their tails to fight.
“HELP m-”
Its effects were just as severe as the price required for that attack. The squad leader wasn’t even able to finish his dying scream before being turned into a porcupine.
‘I hope its corpse is still useful…’
As Zyrus was greedily eyeing the fresh corpses, the ophidian warriors weren’t idle either. They didn’t go to kill the slowed glemorax warriors. Their sights were set on the other captains and squad leaders.
Many more glemorax warriors charged into the domain and soon, Zyrus knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold them off.
The glemorax chief knew that as well. He was getting ready to deliver a decisive blow the moment Zyrus lessened the power surrounding him.
A lot of things were happening, but only five minutes had passed since Zyrus used his domain.
‘Just a little bit more,’ Zyrus gritted his teeth as he observed the ophidian warriors' movement.
They were outnumbered by 10 to 1 and even their individual strength was weaker than their opponents. Despite the assistance of the domain, a third of them had died already.
The results of this battle were far poorer compared to the first encounter. Zyrus was personally leading his elite troops which also had a 1000 rank 2 units.
Even after the hampering of his domain, the effectiveness of the glemorax's formation was evident. And after seeing that, Zyrus was even more certain to execute his plan.
Dark blood was sipping out from the corner of his lips due to the backlash of his mana. Just because his title allowed faster mana recovery didn't mean that his body could handle it.
'Not yet,' Zyrus clenched his fists as his eyes darted around the battlefield,
The glemorax were moving in a rotational manner. It was like a cog was spinning in the middle of the battlefield. Only 2-3 of its ‘teeth’ would engage in the battle while rotating with others.
Some might say that since only one side was facing the enemy, rotating their troops to the rear would only waste their time and energy.
However, Zyrus thought otherwise. Since they had the superiority in numbers, why should they worry about energy? As for the time, these fuckers didn’t have anything to do besides fight.
With this strategy, no one would be able to attack them from other directions. Even the sky was blocked by flying warriors. Zyrus was glad that the amargs had the ability to eject their spikes as it was their only source of aerial assault. From the 500 amargs guarding him, more than 200 were converted into meat shields.
Zyrus concentrated with all his might and felt the familiar sensation. It was as if the time had stopped to a crawl. Each and every cell of his body was synchronizing with the mana flowing within him.
“Gather around!” Zyrus shouted with a stomp on the ground.
He had seen the ophidian warriors, or to be more specific, 500 empowered and enhanced warriors snuck closer to a captain.
Now, it was time to put his final plan into action.
*Bang*Bang*Bang*
All of the amargs protecting him mirrored his action. Unlike Zyrus’s pitiful stomp though, these gigantic creatures managed to send tons of sand flying in the air.
They waved their tails like dogs looking for a treat and hurled heaps of sand into the air. Zyrus, on the other hand, was unleashing the full power of his domain onto the glemorax chief.
The glemorax chief ordered in a furious voice as he felt the air around him become even more viscous. It was as if he was buried under a mountain of tar.
“For the Lord,”
“Kill them all,”
The captains charged at Zyrus like wild bulls. Looking at their energetic responses it almost seemed like they were waiting for this moment.
*Grrrrr*
The leader of the amargs growled with reddened eyes.
*Thud*Thud*Thud*
Hundreds of amargs who had yet to use their spike attack moved in a fan shape. Of the remaining half, only 50 remained with Zyrus to guard him against any unexpected situation while the rest were busy collecting the corpses.
The nine eyes of the glemorax chief were bloodshot with anger at this moment. The captains who were supposed to lead their troops were now focused on capturing Zyrus, and as a result, nearly 1000 glemorax warriors were dead.
‘I was right,’
Zyrus grinned as he wiped the blood from his mouth. Being intelligent had its disadvantages as well, greed being the most prominent one.
He didn’t wait for the captains’ retaliation and immediately used the skill from Zubry Solleret.
*Sizzle*
The sand beneath him glowed with a yellow hue. Infernal tread's effect was much more potent due to the high influx of mana, but still, Zyrus wasn’t satisfied.
He had learned a lot of convenient techniques in his past life. Although they weren’t impactful enough to be recognized by the system, they had their own advantages over the conventional skills.
One of them was “Overdrive”. It was a crude method where he poured an excessive amount of mana to enhance his weapons.
It was a cheap knockoff of the berserk skill. By using Overdrive, he could boost the stats and special skills of his equipment at the cost of their durability.
‘I hope the durability scroll works after this…’
*Siiiiii*
The sand boiled like hot oil in a pan. Zyrus was at his limits after utilizing all of his mana. There was no way he could fight against the glemorax captains in this condition.
Well, he didn’t plan to fight them from the beginning.
*Schuk*
'A wise man knows when to retreat,'
Muffled bangs and sizzling sounds of the molten sand followed behind Zyrus as he ran across the battlefield.
*Pierce*
“Is that all you have?”
*Bang*
He was stabbed and thrown like a ragdoll, only to be completely healed in the next second.
His regenerative abilities were off the chart since he was fighting against the world's enemies. It was a pity that his summons weren’t as lucky.
Only 2000 remained from the original 10000.
“Forget the summons and focus on the lizard,”
Unlike when he used this skill against the rats, Zyrus didn’t have the time or energy to cover a large area. He ordered all the healthy amargs to form a circle as he ran within its boundaries. He knew that they wouldn’t even last a minute against the horde of glemorax army, but even half a minute was enough.
‘Huff…Hufff…’ Zyrus panted for breath as he witnessed the last amarg fall on the outer circle. Now the only thing separating Zyrus and the glemorax army were a red molten ring and 200 injured amargs.
The glemorax chief wasn’t able to finish his sentence as all of the captains had flown towards Zyrus. They weren’t stupid enough to run over the molten sand.
What’s there to be careful about? Their prey was in front of them and there was nothing in the air that could stop their wings.
Unfortunately, they had overclocked a very important fact.
[Shackles of Nihility]
Zyrus snickered as he looked at the glemorax captains and squad leaders flying above the molten area.
Abyssal chains flew out from the sand below and bound their wings. Although Zyrus was unable to merge the power of abyss and his source of origin, it was a piece of cake to layer his void shackles with abyssal mana. Before the glemorax captains could make the heads and tails of the situation, they were already inside the molten sand.
The heat wasn't strong enough to harm their red armor, but so what?
What happens when molten sand is cooled off? Zyrus didn’t wait to see the result and burrowed into the ground.